8 minutes agoJamie Shea: Serbia to decline request for Serb soldiers' return to Kosovo
Periskopi(3 years ago)
(3 years ago)Former official of NATO, Jamie Shea, is convinced that Serbia will not approve the request for the return of soldiers and policemen to Kosovo, however, is pleased that at least Serbia has decided to apply rather than act uniformly. “It is better that Serbia, publicly and transparently, has [...]
Former official of NATO, Jamie Shea, is convinced that Serbia will not approve the request for the return of soldiers and policemen to Kosovo, however, is pleased that at least Serbia has decided to apply rather than act uniformly.
It is best that Serbia, publicly and transparently, has asked KFOR to return troops to Kosovo, not to do so unilaterally, or secretly, as this would be extremely provocative under current circumstances”, says Shea for Radio Free Europe.
He believes Serbia's own president, Aleksandar Vuciq, is aware that this demand will not be approved, but says it is a <x0 political action, because he [Vuchic] feels that he can achieve a victory in public relations without really changing the situation on the ground”.
Vuciqi has said Serbia is demanding the return of 100 to 1,000 troops to Kosovo, “according to UN Resolution 1244”.
Shea é who was the spokesman of NATO during the war in Kosovo says this resolution allows Serbia to seek troop returns, but only under certain circumstances.
“... in certain circumstances, mainly in terms of border controls. The idea was to have coordinates at the border to prevent incidents, to combat theft, illegal trafficking, for the protection of minorities, monuments”, says Shea.
The Briton, who was part of NATO until his retirement in 2018, adds that the return of Serb troops to Kosovo would only be allowed “if it helps calm the” situation.
The “is very important that KFOR decides whether this will be useful or not. And in the current atmosphere, clearly tense between Pristina and the Kosovo Serb community, the current circumstances are obviously in the opposite direction ʹ this would escalate the situation”, says Shea.
He supported representatives of the international community in demanding that local Serbs themselves remove barricades erected on December 10th in the north and joined calls for Kosovo and Serbia to commit to reaching an agreement on the dialogue mediated by the European Union.
Unfortunately, today in northern Kosovo there are people with very extreme, radical views, who do not want any kind of progress to be made, and current stagnation, since it leads to violence, more fits their agenda”, the former NATO spokeswoman added. / REL
